Closing the Gender G(app): Students Host Smith’s First Hackathon March 28-29

Julia Edwards ’15 dislikes the image of computer hackers she frequently sees in Hollywood movies and on TV.

For Edwards, founder of Smithies in Computer Science, hacking is not about cyber-crime. “It’s about creativity and creating cool, new technology,” she said.

To encourage more programming enthusiasts—and women in particular—to experience the virtues of computer hacking, Edwards and fellow club members are hosting Smith’s inaugural hackathon. The creative programming marathon will be held from 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28, to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29, in Davis Ballroom.

Hack@Smith:Closing the Gender g(app) will offer participants a chance to try out ideas for software projects using coding resources supplied by the Smith club, Edwards said.

“You do not need to have any coding experience to join in,” she noted. “Everyone can learn how to code and have fun.”

Food will be provided, as will mentoring help from alumnae volunteers who are experienced computer programmers. As an added boost to creativity, projects from four first-time hackers will be awarded $50 prizes. Ideas developed at the Smith hackathon will be available on challengepost.com after the event.

In addition to attracting first-time programmers, Edwards hopes that hosting a hackathon at a women’s college will draw attention to the existing gender gap in computer science.

“That gap is huge and closing it is something Smithies in Computer Science is passionate about,” she added. “We knew we just had to throw a gender gap-themed hackathon at Smith.”

Beth Andres-Beck ’05, one of the alumnae mentors for the event, said she’s excited about the theme of the hackathon and the chance to share her expertise with new software developers.

I get asked a lot what it’s like to be a woman in the field,” said Beck, who works as a programmer in the Boston area. “Any woman who’s currently a programmer is there through lots of luck and hard work. Hopefully, the next generation of women won’t have to be quite as lucky to get that first job because we will have reduced the structural barriers they have to overcome.”

High-tech companies including Google, Facebook and Apple report that men currently outnumber women by at least four to one in their technical divisions. A study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology showed that while women earned 57 percent of undergraduate degrees in the United States in 2012, they comprised only 18 percent of computer science graduates.

Despite her own early interest in computers, Edwards said she didn’t view programming as a field she could pursue until she got to Smith.

“Now, my goal is to reach that middle or high school girl and encourage her to take AP computer science,” said Edwards, who will be working as a software engineer at Box after graduation and hopes eventually to found her own tech startup.

Her work in founding Smithies in Computer Science has been recognized by the Anita Borg Institute, which recently named Edwards a finalist for a Student of Vision Award. Award winners will be announced in May.

Julia Edwards ’15, founder of Smithes in Computer Science, puts up posters for the college's first hackathon March 28–29.